Terminal operators and equipment managers on the West Coast intend to form a discussion agreement that will allow them to work with industry stakeholders such as shipping lines, motor carriers and railroads to reduce congestion and improve cargo velocity.

U.S. shippers’ potential shifting of imports from the West Coast to the East Coast would give the major eastern railroads more business, but how much the railroads will actually benefit depends on how much of the cargo is destined for the Midwest.

China’s manufacturing shift inland and rising domestic consumption has created a surge in demand for intermodal rail services unable to be fulfilled because of supply side constraints, according to a just-released World Bank report.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are partnering with cargo interests, terminal operators, harbor truckers and the railroads to hasten the day when marine terminals become transit facilities rather than storage sites for containers.

The recent installation of the second of two wide-span gantry cranes at its intermodal hub in northwest Ohio, completing a $40 million expansion, is the latest sign of how the hub-and-spoke model of CSX Transportation, which gives shippers more origins and destinations, is paying off.

U.S. Senate legislation introduced on Wednesday could allow railroads to expedite construction of intermodal terminals and other projects, providing shippers with more capacity and more reliable service.